Ayder, how were your preparations for the competition? Have you managed to achieve good form and were there any injuries?

Preparations went well; I went up in general physical parameters. There was a time when I thought that my right hand was stronger than the left, so I treated it in a different way, like I’ve planned to do for a long time. With a good diet, on weigh-ins I weighed 2.5 kilos more than in the previous year, the weight was 98.5 kg. On the subject of injury - all training sessions went without injury.

Tell us about the fight, who surprised you? You beat Ion Oncesku on the right and left hand, how do you rate his level?

I enjoyed the fights, all opponents were on a level with some I fought before, and some I met for the first time. They were a danger for me on a psychological level, because I did not know them. Ion Oncesku, in my opinion, is a unique wrestler. I have not yet met anyone like him. I don’t mean his strength (he is very strong), I'm talking about his level of training and how he feels as an opponent. Even with minimal loosening, he immediately attacks. He has an amazing response time.

What can you say about the winner in your weight category - Vitaly Laletin? Is he undefeatable?

Vitaliy has been in international competition for a long time. He started in lighter weights, has experience of performances at the borders of the country and this is very important. In addition, he is physically strong and sometimes shares videos of exercises for coordination with big weights. Also, he found a technique that perfectly suits him and positions that favor it. He correctly evaluates the enemy, respects everyone, is very cautious, perhaps that’s why no one can catch him. This is the man for whom I have always had respect, ignoring the fact that we were opponents. This all together makes him undefeated; a Wrestler with the capital W. Vitaliy is great man and a good companion! So far, he is unbeaten, but I am accustomed to move ahead. Time will tell.  

What is your general opinion about the event, organization, refereeing?

I liked it. The venue was good, lighting suitable, however, the background music was not very sporty, and in the first half of the day there was no air to breathe, I do not envy those who performed in the morning. As for schedule, it is not known why there wasn’t any, and all the weight categories came from the morning and waited for their turn, this is not professional for the contestants to wait and lose energy, burn out. There has to be a schedule, a time for each category. Refereeing, frankly, was also not on the level. I wasn’t worried only when I had experienced refs by my table, and when they were beginners, no experience, I tried to be very careful, because in this situation you can lose with a weaker opponent, even without a fight.

Which team surprised you the most? Who was interesting to watch?

A girl from Turkey from the lightweight category (Esra Kiraz). She is wonderful, firmly holds the leading position. A wrestler from Turkey (Oguzhan Kocak), who is in one category with Khadzhimurat Zoloev and always wins 3rd place, but he is the only one of the whole category who fights seriously with Khadzhimurat. He deserved a win for the right hand. Another Turkish from 110+ category (Arif Ertem) – the fight in the finals was without any compromises. Bravo! As for the national team, I would like to say "our team", but unfortunately, we don’t have enough wrestlers. But I hope that we will soon be at the same high level as before. Georgia, which won gold in the seniors, is very hard!

Were there any backstage fights? Did you try yourself in one?

Maybe there were, but without my participation, after a fight I usually immediately carry on with rehabilitation, and I cannot afford to lose strength backstage, just to prove a point to someone. This is  a tournament, you fight at the table, with the referees present. This is the right place the show yourself (if there is a bad level of refereeing - it is bad for everyone), and in such conditions, no one can have any preferences.

What do you have in your career plans? Are you going to start and in any competitions before the world championship?

No, I have rehabilitation now, during which I will make a solid preparation for the World Cup.
I want to shout out to our wrestlers. There were not many, but ... Rudnicki Roman – silver, Burko Nikolaj – silver, and Ilyushina Victoria – two medals, Levchenko Marina – twice silver. Some of the representation were missing something, but it is a matter of training. We draw conclusions from the mistakes and the world championships will bring us even more medals! I'll also work on my mistakes.
Good luck to all!